Prince Harry has described protecting wildlife as ‘God’s test’ for mankind after opening up about his quest to save 500 endangered elephants from poachers.
The Daily Mail reported that the 32-year-old British royal spent three weeks in Malawi over the summer working alongside volunteers, vets and experts on the frontline of one of the largest and most significant elephant translocations.
The Prince has highlighted the importance of conservation highlighting that if we cannot save elephants from extinction then humanity may be in danger too.
He called for an international body to regulate anyone who owns or manages wildlife in his strongest comments on conservation so far.
“I do worry. I think everyone should worry”
“We need to look after them, because otherwise our children will not have a chance to see what we have seen. This is God’s test: If we can’t save some animals in a wilderness area, what else can’t we do?”
Over 500 elephants are being moved over 350 kilometres across Malawi from Liwonde National Park and Majete Wildlife Reserve to Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve, where the elephants will be able to thrive.
Harry helped with the first phase of the translocation when 261 elephants were successfully re-homed through the African Parks organisation, which aims to relocate some endangered animals from areas where numbers are thriving, to safe places were populations have disappeared.
The remaining elephants will be moved during the second phase next summer.
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During those three weeks in the Malawi bush, he says he fell in love with the project because ‘they get things done.’
“They make tough decisions, and they stick to principles”
“I don’t go on safari, I come so I can surround myself with people working in conservation and support them.”
Despite being fifth in line to the British throne, the Prince was just another member of the conservation team while in Malawi.
A senior member of staff there said: “He behaves just like one of the guys. He doesn’t put on any airs and graces. Far from it – when I met him he had a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. He’s clearly enjoying it here and his skills are hugely appreciated.”
Harry said that the continent was the one place he felt like he could finally be himself.
“This is where I feel more like myself than anywhere else in the world. I wish I could spend more time in Africa. I have this intense sense of complete relaxation and normality here.”
“To not get recognized, to lose myself in the bush with what I would call the most down-to-earth people on the planet, people dedicated to conservation with no ulterior motives, no agendas, who would sacrifice everything for the betterment of nature… I talk to them about their jobs, about what they do. And I learn so much.”
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